Contemporary Christian Travel : Pilgrimage, Practice and Place

This book is the first to examine the depth, complexity and uniqueness of global Christian pilgrimage, travel and tourism, and how they manifest in terms of both supply and demand. It explores the places and spaces of production and consumption of this increasingly important tourism phenomenon. The volume considers the foundational elements of the attractiveness of places according to Christian thinking – spirit of place, scriptural connections, art and architecture, contrived/themed environments, programmed events, volunteer travel opportunities, and visiting local communities by way of solidarity tourism and mission work. It includes a wide range of examples from Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Africa, Latin America and North America and will be of interest to researchers and students in religious studies, tourism, pilgrimage studies, geography, anthropology and Christianity studies.

Amos S. Ron is Senior Lecturer and Head of the Department of Tourism Studies at Ashkelon Academic College, Israel. He has worked in the field for almost 40 years and his research interests include geography of religion, cultural geography, pilgrimage, sacred site management, heritage tourism, cuisine and food traditions.

Dallen J. Timothy is Professor, School of Community Resources and Development, Arizona State University, USA. His research interests include tourism and geopolitics, tourism in the Global South, sustainability and tourism development. His most recent publication is Cultural Heritage Tourism in Africa (ed., Routledge, 2023).